Is220D Head Gasket Gone - New Engine

[kaiser]

Hi Guys,

I am new to the forum after having recently purchased an IS 220d. After picking up the car (on a 56 plate with around 100k) I was hugely impressed with how it drove and the MPG I was getting (about 42-45) for a car with this mileage on it

After a month of having it I had a white smoke intermittently appearing from the exhaust and a drop off of MPG from 42 to around 30. I was concerned that this was going to be a DPF issue due to these being 2 major symptoms of DPF failure. At this point I used a fuel additive and ran the vehicle at 3000+ rpm for about 40 miles to "force clean" the DPF. This made no difference. Then I had Lexus oxford look at it and they informed me that there was a non standard DPF on the car but it looked rather new and as such it was unlikely to be this.

After doing some research on this forum it became apparent that this may be the head gasket (from white smoke being produced due to water in the combustion chamber). I took the car to Lexus Milton Keynes and stated that it had a full service history (only half from Lexus themselves and the other half just A N Other garage) and 102k miles. I told them of the white smoke, drop in mpg and dpf replacement as well of the steps I had taken clean the DPF. Initially the Service Manager suggested a CAT at around £2k to fix the problem. Upon discussion about this fixing a symptom rather than a problem he openly discussed the extended good will warrantee (up to 7 years old and less than 111,000miles [180,000km]). They have now booked the car in for December 9th and are going to replace the whole engine.

Firstly I would like to say thank you to everyone who posts on here as doing a bit of research made life so much easier with the guys at Lexus. Secondly I would say well done to Lexus for being so accommodating over this. They are giving me a courtesy car for the week and not charging me anything to sort out the car. They even said that upon deep inspection if it is not the HG they will not charge me for a diagnostic for finding the route cause.

I will keep you updated on progress but at the moment I would certainly recommend Lexus Milton Keynes to anyone!

It has been incredibly helpful having the information I have found on this forum and though I would put down concisely what I said to get the outcome of an engine replacement, free of charge, from Lexus.

- Called the garage(s) in the service book to gain more information on the history of the car (all was clear they obviously didn't change the DPF)

- Conducted DPF cleaning steps (run engine at 3000 rpm for about 40 miles, I found this to be 4th gear and around 70mph) use a fuel additive designed to clean diesel exhaust systems (often these do not actually state DPF but do clean it)

- Called Lexus to ask if anyone had seen the vehicle - they had, Lexus Birmingham who diagnosed CAT replacement in march

- Spoke to mechanic about EGR Valve, DPF and CAT - all seem ok

- Took Car to main Lexus dealer, informed them that the DPF had been replaced, the EGR was fine and the CAT was ok.

- Informed them of White Smoke (would be either water in combustion chamber and as such HG or completely unburnt diesel and probably a compression ratio issue) - they agreed with these two probable causes

- Informed them of the drop off in MPG - could be DPF or Engine/Compression Malfunction - they agreed

- Stated that DPF was replaced (non standard part) - they said this would mitigate the likelihood of a DPF issue and they had no problem with a non-standard part

- Mentioned their "Goodwill" extended warrantee - they informed me of the guidelines - 7 years and 111,000 miles

- Stated the likely problem due to symptoms and checks was the HG

- Lexus agreed to take car and replace engine under extended Warrantee

- Lexus also agreed to further diagnose the problem if the replacement does not cure the white smoke.

Something to bear in mind is that the Service Manager did say an engine replacement may not get rid of the smoke, my argument was that Diesel engines do not legally require a CAT (in the UK) so why would I pay £2k to replace it when I can pay £100's to get a non cat exhaust? Furthermore, replacing the CAT will simply clean the exhaust gas better and remove the symptom not the root problem. At this point the instantly agreed to replace the engine.

I hope that this experience can help others with the same problem, if nothing else I just wanted to say a big Thank you to all on this forum who have helped me get the result I needed with minimal argument with Lexus.

[blackcts]

As far as I know the DPF AND CAT are combined on these - its called a DPNR. So the 2k replacement would have been for this!

[TheDreamer]

Thats great news kaiser. Like you I can only speak highly of lexus of Leicester. The Service Manager is a top bloke. keeps me informed with progress of the vehicle hopefully should have it back at some point tomorrow afternoon. Since my cars under the knife so to speak :) i knew it required certain work doing so I'm getting the 100k service done while the new engine is being replaced as its lot cheaper interms of labour cost then if i came back after 10,000 miles.

[Touche]

Ugh... I checked my coolant level the other day and found it was on the "low" mark. It's only been 6 months and 8,400 miles since the new engine and water pump went in.

I topped it up with deionised water and checked out the engine bay the next day. I can see evidence of coolant being expelled via the overflow pipe!

I haven't had a chance to take her for a spin until this evening... Some further coolant has left the overflow pipe :(

I'm now quite suspicious that the engine has gone again. I called the service manager at Coventry this morning (before my drive) and explained the situation and said I'd call again on Friday once I'd done a bit of driving to see what was happening to the coolant level and to book her in for them to look at.

Quite an annoyance! At least the engine is warranted...

[TheDreamer]

@ Touche

Please keep us updated. I've recently had my engine replaced for the HG issue, i've only done less then 700 miles since but i was assured by lexus mechanic's with new engine the head gasket issue was nolonger a problem. Bit worrying when i read your post that you've had your engine replaced and this problem is still persistent after 6 months

[Touche]

Went to have this looked at today. They pressure tested the engine for 45 minutes and couldn't find any active leaks. There was evidence of a leak at the top of the radiator with a crust of dried coolant covering it. I took the car for a 20 mile test drive where I really thrashed it on Motorways/A-roads as well as a spell driving around back streets. When I got it back to them there was no coolant loss. So they think the problem may be a leaking radiator which has crusted over and sealed itself at the moment. We'll see...

I'm starting to loose confidence in the car sadly. It's due a service in 2k miles and with the spectre of a radiator replacement looming I'm considering selling it... Only problem is my wife! We're looking to buy a house over the next few months and she's decreed that selling the car and buying another before we buy a house would be grounds for divorce!

[MaLexIS]

Hi,

My car is currently at Lexus Coventry, looks like a HG job, coolant sprayed over engine etc. The car is nearly 8 year old (2007), but only has 74000 miles on it. Fortunately (I hope!), I purchased the Lexus extended warranty in Dec 2014,

I've had the VSC issue (DPF changed under warranty) recently had a water pump replaced under warranty (the symptoms looked to be the same i.e. coolant sprayed over the engine), and was sort of expecting this issue to crop up. I bought the car under the used approved scheme from Lexus Bolton with 30k miles on it, first three service stamps were from an independent, but I have had it maintained by Lexus since I have owned it. There should be no grounds for Lexus to challenge paying the bill, I'll keep the forum posted with my experience.

[TheDreamer]

any update MaLexis on the replacement engine??